Films & Schedules
- Monday, February 17, 2014

AGLAJA

DIRECTOR: Krisztina Deák - HUNGARY

In the hope of a better life, a Hungarian-Romanian family of circus artists escapes from the Ceausescu dictatorship in Romania to the West in the early 1980s. There they realize that to stay in the ring they will need to devise an exotic and different performance. The mother devises a special act in which she hangs by her hair in the circus dome. However, her daughter Aglaja is constantly worried that her mother will fall to her death, and this fear becomes an everyday burden for her to bear. Yet one day—following the family tradition—she herself will become “the Woman...

In the hope of a better life, a Hungarian-Romanian family of circus artists escapes from the Ceausescu dictatorship in Romania to the West in the early 1980s. There they realize that to stay in the ring they will need to devise an exotic and different performance. The mother devises a special act in which she hangs by her hair in the circus dome. However, her daughter Aglaja is constantly worried that her mother will fall to her death, and this fear becomes an everyday burden for her to bear. Yet one day—following the family tradition—she herself will become “the Woman with Hair of Steel.” A moving story about a refugee family and the joys and curses of enforced interdependence—all seen from the viewpoint of a young woman who must find her way in life’s instabilities. (116 mins.)

SHORT CUTS II: INTERNATIONAL TIES

SHORT CUTS

Note: The Sunday 2/9 screening is cancelled. Tickets can be refunded or exchanged for another film. Please call our Advance Ticket Outlet between the hours of noon and 6 p.m. at 503-276-4310 (closed Sunday 2/9).

PLACES WHERE WE LIVED

His parents are selling his childhood home. What a terrible, terrible feeling. (7 mins.)

GRANDPA AND ME AND A HELICOPTER TO HEAVEN

DIRECTOR: Åsa Blanck, Johan Palmgren - (Sweden)

An unsentimental young boy goes on a final excursion with his grandfather to collect chanterelle mushrooms. (15 mins.)

SATURDAY GIRLS

DIRECTOR: Emilie Cherpitel - (France)

Eva wakes up alone in an unknown flat. Her boyfriend from the night before has disappeared, but Leon, his little brother, is there, and she is left with no other option than spending the day with him. (15 mins.)

WHALE VALLEY

DIRECTOR: Gumundur Arnar Gumundsson - (Denmark/Iceland)

Two young brothers living in a remote Icelandic fjord come to terms with the hard truths that make kids grow up before they’re ready. (15 mins.)

RECORD/PLAY

DIRECTOR: Jesse Atlas - (United States)

War, fate, and a broken Walkman transcend time and space in this sci-fi love story. (10 mins.)

WALKER

DIRECTOR: Tsai Ming-Liang - (Hong Kong)

Is Hong Kong beautiful, strangely beautiful, or beautifully strange? A meditative and visually striking film about a monk walking slowly through the bustling streets of Hong Kong. (27 mins.)

AYA OF YOP CITY

DIRECTOR: Clément Oubrerie, Marguerite Abouet - FRANCE

Based on the series of young adult graphic novels, this vibrant animated tale unfolds in a colorful, working-class neighborhood in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Life is good in Yop City: its sun-soaked markets, open air bars, and quirky cafés are the perfect backdrop for 19-year-old Aya and her two best friends, Adjoua and Bintou. While the bookish Aya hopes to get a degree in medicine, the ambitions of Adjoua and Bintou lean more toward the degree to which they can attract young men. In this upbeat, gentle weave of modern urban Africa, the three girls navigate nosy neighbors, meddling relatives, young...

Based on the series of young adult graphic novels, this vibrant animated tale unfolds in a colorful, working-class neighborhood in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Life is good in Yop City: its sun-soaked markets, open air bars, and quirky cafés are the perfect backdrop for 19-year-old Aya and her two best friends, Adjoua and Bintou. While the bookish Aya hopes to get a degree in medicine, the ambitions of Adjoua and Bintou lean more toward the degree to which they can attract young men. In this upbeat, gentle weave of modern urban Africa, the three girls navigate nosy neighbors, meddling relatives, young romance, and old traditions, all complicated by the unexpected pregnancy of Adjoua. Aya of Yop City presents us with a picture of African life too seldom seen in the West—lighthearted, warm, and universal. (84 mins.)

THE LAST STEP

DIRECTOR: Ali Mosaffa - IRAN

Inspired by James Joyce’s “The Dead,” this engrossing tale of grief, guilt, and lost love is narrated from beyond the grave by architect Khosro (Mosaffa), who has died in a mysterious fall but lingers around his beautiful film star wife, Leila (Leila Hatami), reviewing their complicated but loving marriage. Hanging around the set where she is trying to finish shooting the film begun before his death, previously unexplained truths dawn on him, but Leila, who manages to insert her perspective into the story, still has some secrets. This complex, ironic, and delicate psychological thriller is lead actor Mosaffa’s sophomore directing...

Inspired by James Joyce’s “The Dead,” this engrossing tale of grief, guilt, and lost love is narrated from beyond the grave by architect Khosro (Mosaffa), who has died in a mysterious fall but lingers around his beautiful film star wife, Leila (Leila Hatami), reviewing their complicated but loving marriage. Hanging around the set where she is trying to finish shooting the film begun before his death, previously unexplained truths dawn on him, but Leila, who manages to insert her perspective into the story, still has some secrets. This complex, ironic, and delicate psychological thriller is lead actor Mosaffa’s sophomore directing effort. “Blending elements of whodunit mystery, love triangle, and poetic meditation on mortality…yet another reminder that Iran is awash with world-class filmmakers.”—The Hollywood Reporter. (88 mins.)

COFFEE IN BERLIN

DIRECTOR: Jan Ole Gerster - GERMANY

Gerster’s wry, breezy first feature (a.k.a. Oh Boy) swept all of the major German Film Awards this year with its sly subversion of Generation Y clichés, assured direction, and timeless black-and-white cinematography. Berlin slacker Niko is drifting through his twenties content to let life and responsibilities slide by and oblivious to his growing estrangement. But over the course of a single day, the cosmic balance shifts, imperceptibly at first, and a series of unfortunate and surprising encounters snowball into what could only be described as an existential crisis. His girlfriend turns on him, and when his disappointed father asks him—after...

Gerster’s wry, breezy first feature (a.k.a. Oh Boy) swept all of the major German Film Awards this year with its sly subversion of Generation Y clichés, assured direction, and timeless black-and-white cinematography. Berlin slacker Niko is drifting through his twenties content to let life and responsibilities slide by and oblivious to his growing estrangement. But over the course of a single day, the cosmic balance shifts, imperceptibly at first, and a series of unfortunate and surprising encounters snowball into what could only be described as an existential crisis. His girlfriend turns on him, and when his disappointed father asks him—after discovering that he has long ago dropped out of university—what he has been doing for the last two years, he can only muster, “I’ve been thinking.” If only he could grab a cup of coffee. (88 mins.)

First feature.

Sponsored by Zeitgeist Northwest and the Oregon State University Language Department.

THE GOLDEN DREAM

DIRECTOR: Diego Quemada-Díez - MEXICO

Quemada-Díez brings a gritty realism and social conscience to a story about the excitement and horror young Central American migrants regularly face in trying to make it to the United States. Sara, a Guatemalan teenager, chops her hair off and disguises herself as a boy. She’s joined by her friends Juan and Samuel on a thrilling and brutal journey north, hopping freight trains heading for Los Angeles. As the group faces life-and-death challenges from bandits and corrupt law enforcement, they learn crucial life lessons about friendship and loyalty. This poetic thriller was inspired by the true stories unfolding daily along...

Quemada-Díez brings a gritty realism and social conscience to a story about the excitement and horror young Central American migrants regularly face in trying to make it to the United States. Sara, a Guatemalan teenager, chops her hair off and disguises herself as a boy. She’s joined by her friends Juan and Samuel on a thrilling and brutal journey north, hopping freight trains heading for Los Angeles. As the group faces life-and-death challenges from bandits and corrupt law enforcement, they learn crucial life lessons about friendship and loyalty. This poetic thriller was inspired by the true stories unfolding daily along unnamed railroad tracks, and the remarkable cast of untrained actors won a special prize in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival. “A very substantial movie, with great compassion and urgency.”—The Guardian, London. (102 mins.)

LEVITATED MASS

DIRECTOR: Doug Pray - UNITED STATES

Levitated Mass chronicles the journey of a 340-ton granite boulder that was moved from a quarry in Riverside to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and mounted upon the walls of a 456-foot-long concrete slot. First attempted in 1968, the 2012 permanent installation “Levitated Mass” is the latest land sculpture by one of America’s most misunderstood and exciting artists, Michael Heizer. His rock’s 105-mile transport captured international media attention and challenged the imagination of thousands of southern Californians over 10 nights as it crawled through four counties on a football-field-long transport. As fascinating is the dramatic story of Heizer’s...

Levitated Mass chronicles the journey of a 340-ton granite boulder that was moved from a quarry in Riverside to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and mounted upon the walls of a 456-foot-long concrete slot. First attempted in 1968, the 2012 permanent installation “Levitated Mass” is the latest land sculpture by one of America’s most misunderstood and exciting artists, Michael Heizer. His rock’s 105-mile transport captured international media attention and challenged the imagination of thousands of southern Californians over 10 nights as it crawled through four counties on a football-field-long transport. As fascinating is the dramatic story of Heizer’s past and present work, the ambitions of a major metropolitan museum, and the public’s reaction to this massive display of modern (yet ancient-feeling) conceptual art. (88 mins.)

THE TOUGH GUYS

DIRECTOR: Christian Lo - NORWAY

Eleven-year-old Modulf fancies himself as something of a superhero, saving the other kids at his school from being bullied by “allowing” the tough kids to pick on him so they can escape. While he’s the one being soaked in the bathroom, the other kids are protected. Then one day Lise joins Modulf’s class, wreaking havoc with his plan. Lise doesn’t agree with his theories, and her interfering suddenly makes her a target for trouble, forcing him to reexamine his strategy and save her. Winner of the Best Children’s Film Prize at the Nordic Film Days. (74 mins.)

Eleven-year-old Modulf fancies himself as something of a superhero, saving the other kids at his school from being bullied by “allowing” the tough kids to pick on him so they can escape. While he’s the one being soaked in the bathroom, the other kids are protected. Then one day Lise joins Modulf’s class, wreaking havoc with his plan. Lise doesn’t agree with his theories, and her interfering suddenly makes her a target for trouble, forcing him to reexamine his strategy and save her. Winner of the Best Children’s Film Prize at the Nordic Film Days. (74 mins.)

Filmography: Rafiki (09).

Recommended for ages 8+.

Sponsored by the Royal Norwegian Consulate General, San Francisco; Journal Graphics; and Oregon Episcopal School.

IN BLOOM

DIRECTOR: Nana Ekvtimishvili, Simon Gross - GEORGIA

It’s 1992 in Tbilisi, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but 14-year-old best friends Eka and Natia are unfazed by the fear and insecurity lurking around them. As civil war rages in the rest of the country, the girls are preoccupied with school gossip, learning how to smoke cigarettes, and flirting with the neighborhood boys. Their lives change when Natia receives a pistol as an unexpected love gesture, and suddenly the girls must face circumstances beyond their control. Loosely based on Ekvtimishvili’s experiences, In Bloom portrays distinctively fierce female characters who struggle to escape their turbulent families and male-dominated...

It’s 1992 in Tbilisi, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but 14-year-old best friends Eka and Natia are unfazed by the fear and insecurity lurking around them. As civil war rages in the rest of the country, the girls are preoccupied with school gossip, learning how to smoke cigarettes, and flirting with the neighborhood boys. Their lives change when Natia receives a pistol as an unexpected love gesture, and suddenly the girls must face circumstances beyond their control. Loosely based on Ekvtimishvili’s experiences, In Bloom portrays distinctively fierce female characters who struggle to escape their turbulent families and male-dominated traditions. This year’s Georgian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar “is an intimate, deeply engaging story of friendship between women destined for different fates in a world of male-driven violence.”—Screen. (102 mins.)

PEOPLE IN PLACES

DIRECTOR: Juan Cavestany - SPAIN

“To uncover the strange in the ordinary, the unsettling in the everyday: this is the mark of imaginative wizardry that can be found in abundance in People in Places. Working with the tiniest of micro-budgets, Cavestany stages a series of bizarre, Buñuelian scenarios that offer a cracked view of contemporary Spain in the wake of the economic crisis. Making use of some of Spain’s greatest actors alongside faces, he places them in bizarre situations that will have you laughing out loud. Moving from one nondescript location to the next, a theme, or perhaps more of an undercurrent, emerges—until the fiercely...

“To uncover the strange in the ordinary, the unsettling in the everyday: this is the mark of imaginative wizardry that can be found in abundance in People in Places. Working with the tiniest of micro-budgets, Cavestany stages a series of bizarre, Buñuelian scenarios that offer a cracked view of contemporary Spain in the wake of the economic crisis. Making use of some of Spain’s greatest actors alongside faces, he places them in bizarre situations that will have you laughing out loud. Moving from one nondescript location to the next, a theme, or perhaps more of an undercurrent, emerges—until the fiercely political nature of the film becomes apparent. Voyeuristic and confounding, Cavestany uses the preposterous to highlight the all-too-real, capturing people in places doing very, very peculiar things.”—Toronto International Film Festival. (83 mins.)

Filmography: Gente de mala calidad (08), Dispongo de barcos (10).

Sponsored by PRAGDA, with support from Spain Arts & Culture and the Spain/USA Foundation.

THE PRIEST’S CHILDREN

DIRECTOR: Vinko Brešan - CROATIA

A young Catholic priest takes subversive action to enforce the Church’s position on birth control among his flock and soon has a baby boom on his hands in Vinko Brešan’s acerbic satire, adapted from the scandalously popular stage play. New priest Father Fabijan takes charge of the parish on the bucolic Adriatic island of Dnevnik, a location that has seen its population steadily dwindle. After hearing confession from a devout kiosk vendor racked with guilt over selling condoms, Father Fabijan hits upon a solution to both their problems: pierce the prophylactics. Once they enlist a kooky nationalistic pharmacist in their...

A young Catholic priest takes subversive action to enforce the Church’s position on birth control among his flock and soon has a baby boom on his hands in Vinko Brešan’s acerbic satire, adapted from the scandalously popular stage play. New priest Father Fabijan takes charge of the parish on the bucolic Adriatic island of Dnevnik, a location that has seen its population steadily dwindle. After hearing confession from a devout kiosk vendor racked with guilt over selling condoms, Father Fabijan hits upon a solution to both their problems: pierce the prophylactics. Once they enlist a kooky nationalistic pharmacist in their efforts, who fills the local women’s prescriptions for birth control pills with placebos, pregnancies skyrocket, and the island gains a reputation as a fertility spa. But all this playing God brings unintended consequences. (93 mins.)

Filmography: How the War Started on My Island (96), Marsal (99), Witnesses (03), Will Not End Here (08).

TELEVISION

DIRECTOR: Mostofa Sarwar Farooki - BANGLADESH

Tradition and technology clash in this satire set in rural Bangladesh. On religious grounds, a local community leader, Chairman Amin, bans every kind of image in his little village, including televisions and mobile phones. He even declares that imagination is sinful as it leads one into prohibited territory. His order is met with revolt, even within his own family, and the once peaceful village is riven by the decision. As he enters into a bitter dispute with his beloved son and the repercussions of his decision become more and more serious, the chairman himself needs a reinvigoration of his faith....

Tradition and technology clash in this satire set in rural Bangladesh. On religious grounds, a local community leader, Chairman Amin, bans every kind of image in his little village, including televisions and mobile phones. He even declares that imagination is sinful as it leads one into prohibited territory. His order is met with revolt, even within his own family, and the once peaceful village is riven by the decision. As he enters into a bitter dispute with his beloved son and the repercussions of his decision become more and more serious, the chairman himself needs a reinvigoration of his faith. Using humor, romance, visual panache, and a genuine affection for its characters, Television tells a compelling and important story from an unexpected place. This year’s Bangladeshi submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. (106 mins.)

CIRCLES

DIRECTOR: Srdan Golubovic - SERBIA

Circles unfolds as a triptych, exploring the moral convolutions of guilt and complex story strands that emerge from one fateful moment. Marco, a Serbian soldier on leave during the war in 1993, returns to his Bosnian hometown. When three fellow soldiers accost Haris, a Muslim shopkeeper, Marco intervenes, but it costs him his life. Twelve years later, the war is over, but the wounds remain open. Marco’s father is rebuilding a church when Bogdan, the son of one of Marco’s killers, appears looking for work. Meanwhile in Belgrade, Marco’s friend Nabobs, a renowned surgeon, debates whether or not to operate...

Circles unfolds as a triptych, exploring the moral convolutions of guilt and complex story strands that emerge from one fateful moment. Marco, a Serbian soldier on leave during the war in 1993, returns to his Bosnian hometown. When three fellow soldiers accost Haris, a Muslim shopkeeper, Marco intervenes, but it costs him his life. Twelve years later, the war is over, but the wounds remain open. Marco’s father is rebuilding a church when Bogdan, the son of one of Marco’s killers, appears looking for work. Meanwhile in Belgrade, Marco’s friend Nabobs, a renowned surgeon, debates whether or not to operate on another of Marco’s killers. And in Germany, Haris strives to repay his debt when Marco’s widow arrives seeking refuge. This year’s Serbian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. (112 mins.)

NOBODY’S DAUGHTER HAEWON

DIRECTOR: Hong Sang-soo - SOUTH KOREA

Why does Seoul student Haewon keep dozing off? Is she depressed by her mother’s departure for Canada? Tired of her relationship with her teacher, the fickle—and married—filmmaker Seongjun? Will the events of the coming weeks rouse her from her listlessness, or will she carry on dreaming? With its focus on fraught male-female relationships, mix of gentle comedy and meditative melancholia, and playful way with narrative repetition and fragmentation, this is clearly a Hong Sang-soo film. In Hong’s view of human foibles, the various men hitting on Haewon are again prone to bathos and self-delusion, while she herself is as insecure...

Why does Seoul student Haewon keep dozing off? Is she depressed by her mother’s departure for Canada? Tired of her relationship with her teacher, the fickle—and married—filmmaker Seongjun? Will the events of the coming weeks rouse her from her listlessness, or will she carry on dreaming? With its focus on fraught male-female relationships, mix of gentle comedy and meditative melancholia, and playful way with narrative repetition and fragmentation, this is clearly a Hong Sang-soo film. In Hong’s view of human foibles, the various men hitting on Haewon are again prone to bathos and self-delusion, while she herself is as insecure and indecisive as an Eric Rohmer protagonist. Like those patience-trying heroines, she’s rightly regarded with bemusement and compassion—wherein lie the film’s wit and charm. (90 mins.)

Filmography: The Day a Pig Fell Into the Well (96), Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors (00), Woman on the Beach (06), Like You Know It All (09), The Day He Arrives (11), Our Sunhi (13).

STRAY DOGS

DIRECTOR: Tsai Ming-Liang - TAIWAN

In Ming-Liang’s vision, existence seems to hang by a thread that could snap at any moment. Under a torrential downpour in Taipei, a single father does odd jobs to make a meager living. His children, left without supervision, roam the streets. Their divorced mother spends her nights creeping around like a ghost in her rundown building and feeding the stray dogs that take shelter there. With his latest offering, the Taiwanese filmmaker delves deeper into his evocative cinematic world, one where disenfranchised people are overcome with an uneasiness they can’t explain. With its gorgeous lighting and striking locations and compositions,...

In Ming-Liang’s vision, existence seems to hang by a thread that could snap at any moment. Under a torrential downpour in Taipei, a single father does odd jobs to make a meager living. His children, left without supervision, roam the streets. Their divorced mother spends her nights creeping around like a ghost in her rundown building and feeding the stray dogs that take shelter there. With his latest offering, the Taiwanese filmmaker delves deeper into his evocative cinematic world, one where disenfranchised people are overcome with an uneasiness they can’t explain. With its gorgeous lighting and striking locations and compositions, Stray Dogs is “as visually powerful as it is emotionally overwhelming and bracingly pure in both its anger and its compassion. One of the finest works of an extraordinary artist.”—New York Film Festival. (138 mins.)

Filmography: Rebels of the Neon God (92), Vive L’Amour (94), The Hole (98), What Time Is It Over There? (01), The Wayward Cloud (05), I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone (06), Face (09).

WALESA: MAN OF HOPE

DIRECTOR: Andrzej Wajda - POLAND

This remarkable historical epic, tracing Lech Walesa’s rise from simple shipyard electrician to leader of Poland’s Solidarity movement and Polish president, is the last part of venerable director Andrzej Wajda’s trilogy about how worker disillusionment with Communism helped to bring about the system’s demise. Centering on Walesa and his wife Danuta, the screenplay, built around a 1981 interview he gave to Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci, chronicles two decades of high stakes events while, in Wajda’s words “...making a movie about a people’s hero...a politician who came from the social lows and rose to his position purely and only thanks to...

This remarkable historical epic, tracing Lech Walesa’s rise from simple shipyard electrician to leader of Poland’s Solidarity movement and Polish president, is the last part of venerable director Andrzej Wajda’s trilogy about how worker disillusionment with Communism helped to bring about the system’s demise. Centering on Walesa and his wife Danuta, the screenplay, built around a 1981 interview he gave to Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci, chronicles two decades of high stakes events while, in Wajda’s words “...making a movie about a people’s hero...a politician who came from the social lows and rose to his position purely and only thanks to his own will, his own strength, his own energy, his intelligence.” (127 mins.)

THE WAY WE DANCE

DIRECTOR: Adam Wong - HONG KONG

A surprise hit in Hong Kong, the low-budget The Way We Dance, like most dance movies, is a celebration of vibrant youth, as well as hopes and dreams fulfilled. Leaving her parents’ tofu restaurant behind, aspiring dancer Fleur enters university and joins the hip-hop dance club. Her idiosyncratic moves are too advanced for the other dancers, but she finds approval from the chairman of the tai chi club, who encourages her to connect with her inner martial artist. With an appropriately minimalist (romantic drama) plot, Wong inventively mashes contemporary street and traditional Chinese moves with Kung-fu spirit to capture “the...

A surprise hit in Hong Kong, the low-budget The Way We Dance, like most dance movies, is a celebration of vibrant youth, as well as hopes and dreams fulfilled. Leaving her parents’ tofu restaurant behind, aspiring dancer Fleur enters university and joins the hip-hop dance club. Her idiosyncratic moves are too advanced for the other dancers, but she finds approval from the chairman of the tai chi club, who encourages her to connect with her inner martial artist. With an appropriately minimalist (romantic drama) plot, Wong inventively mashes contemporary street and traditional Chinese moves with Kung-fu spirit to capture “the passion and romance of these dancers, whom I found representative of the Hong Kong people who are used to growing up in adversity...the devotion, focus, and persistence in the pursuit of their art.” (110 mins.)